Real Estate & Development News
The McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan is now online! Click here to read the plan.The McKinley Park Development Council continues to push forward neighborhood development with regular meetings and this month's launch of the neighborhood development plan, a project the council won in 2017 from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). The public outreach phase of the neighborhood development plan kicks off the evening of Wednesday, July 18, at the monthly council meeting, when local residents, business owners and community stakeholders can begin providing their feedback about how the neighborhood should best develop.
The July council meeting both culminates the first phase of work and organizing for the development plan, and pushes forward council development with the voting in of the council's full board of directors. The council's June 20 meeting at Marz Community Brewing Co. included introductions of existing and prospective board members, updates on neighborhood development proposals and the lowdown on the Marz brewing business, accompanied by free samples of Marz beer.
Read more: Neighborhood Development Plan Project Set to Launch for McKinley Park
The Chicago Tribune newspaper has published an article by reporter Tony Briscoe that examines the MAT Asphalt plant at 4010 S. Damen Ave. and the new Neighbors for Environmental Justice group formed to bring attention to the project. The article outlines the scope of the the issues surrounding the new plant, including pollution concerns, examples of existing asphalt plant installations, the equipment at MAT Asphalt and the potential influence of Chicago politics.
Read more: Tribune Focuses on Asphalt Plant Development, New Neighborhood Environmental Group
The Chicago Reader newspaper clearly knows about good bars, as they've focused on the McKinley Park neighborhood's stalwart One City Tap in a just-published article. Father-and-son proprietors Marco Lopez and Marco "J.R." Lopez share their story and how they've found success by creating an open, welcoming bar for the community.
Like One City Tap, Tri-Taylor's The Slide Bar also gets nods in the article for being one of the few remaining legitimate neighborhood taverns on the South and West sides. Click here to read The Chicago Reader article.
The Montessori Foundations of Chicago, for years located in a storefront space at Archer Avenue and Leavitt Street, is preparing for big changes in facilities, curriculum and business as it preps for a move this fall to a new home a block away. The abandoned Titan Ornamental Ironworks building at 2239 W. 35th St. will house the new school, which will include an expanded early childhood program, the start of a full-blown elementary school program and a dramatically larger facility with more indoor and new outdoor space.
School founder and Principal Beata Skorusa said she uncovered the opportunity to buy the abandoned property after noticing and researching it, and was able to seal the deal due to an appreciation for the Montessori learning method. When she contacted the long-estranged owner, "he was excited about the idea because his own children went to Montessori schools," she said. "Montessori brought us together."
Read more: Montessori School Moving to New Location, Expanding Curriculum
Cesar Gonzalez, owner and proprietor of the popular Pl-zeň gastropub on 18th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, pitched his plan for a neighborhood brewpub at 34th Street and Ashland Avenue during the Wednesday, May 16, meeting of the McKinley Park Development Council. If the development goes through, Gonzalez said he plans to operate a bar and restaurant with brewing capabilities on the first floor of 3401 S. Ashland Ave., and live with his family in one of the rehabbed residences above it.
The plan requires changing the zoning on this property from its current residential-only designation to C1-2 commercial zoning that would allow a first floor business with brewing capabilities. Liliana Escarpita of the 12th Ward office said that the decision on the zoning change needs to happen soon, given city zoning committee meeting schedules and construction loan deadlines tied to the project. Anyone with feedback on the proposed zoning change should quickly contact the 12th Ward office at ward12@cityofchicago.org or (773) 523-8250.
